Friday, November 12, 2010

Kevin Carson (Bow Wow) wasn’t even thinking about buying a lottery ticket that fateful Friday the jackpot had reached $370 million, even though folks on the long line were already talking about how they planned to spend the money on everything from a Versace suit to a mail order bride. But then a couple of events transpired which you might call divine intervention.
First, his grandmother (Loretta Devine) asked him to play the numbers that had come to her when Jesus appeared to her in a dream. Then, he was fired on the spot when recently-paroled Lorenzo (Gbenga Akinnagbe) raised a ruckus at Foot Locker under the mistaken belief that Kevin was the snitch who’d put him behind bars.
Unexpectedly unemployed, Kevin impulsively decided to buy himself a lottery ticket, too, and that evening he got the shock of his life while watching the drawing on TV when all of his numbers popped up one after the other. Being from the ‘hood, there was now the little matter of surviving in the projects without attracting any attention before his first chance to redeem his lucky ticket following the long July 4th weekend.
Hiding his good fortune proves to be easier said than done because his grandma immediately breaks her promise not to share their secret with anyone. Consequently, word spreads on the block like wildfire and Kevin soon finds himself fighting temptation while trying to run a gauntlet of avaricious connivers wherever he goes.
The chase which ensues unfolds like an inner city variation of the treasure hunt classic It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), which similarly featured an abundance of cartoonish characters immersed in a variety of comical subplots. Can Kevin elude the clutches of Lorenzo and the other bullies eager to steal his winning ticket?
Will he have the strength to resist the womanly wiles of the shameless seductress (Teairra Marri) who suddenly says she wants to have his baby? Will he have the sense to turn down the cash advance with strings attached offered by a flamboyant mobster (Keith David) driving a fancy car? Will he tithe a tenth of the take to the shady minister (Mike Epps) who covets the money to build a mega church and to marry the new wife he says “God wants me to have.”
Fortunately, Kevin does have a few trusted confidants who help keep him grounded amidst all the insanity, including his grandmother; his childhood sweetheart, Stacie (Naturi Naughton); mysterious neighborhood elder Mr. Washington (Ice Cube); and especially Benny (Brandon T. Jackson), his best friend since fifth grade. So by the time redemption day rolls around, he might not only still have his ticket out of the slums but have learned a priceless lesson about what really matters most in life.
A ROFL roller coaster ride with a heartwarming message! What more can you ask for from a ghetto-fabulous, escapist fantasy?

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KamWilliams.com

The Sly Fox Film Reviews publishes the content of film critic Kam Williams. Voted Most Outstanding Journalist of the Decade by the Disilgold Soul Literary Review in 2008, Kam Williams is a syndicated film and book critic who writes for 100+ publications around the U.S., Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada and the Caribbean. He is a member of the New York Film Critics Online, the NAACP Image Awards Nominating Committee and Rotten Tomatoes.

In addition to a BA in Black Studies from Cornell, he has an MA in English from Brown, an MBA from The Wharton School, and a JD from Boston University. Kam lives in Princeton, NJ with his wife and son.